— The Rochester Christian Church Ministries in Gates hosted a special Christmas celebration on Saturday evening Guests watched a family performance of Raffadali's Great Adventure featuring Raffadali the donkey They were also treated to a four-dimensional multi-sensory "spoken word" experience Kids made their own star-themed ornaments and watched the spectacular light show featuring tens of thousands of color-changing lights displaying animations across the whole RCCM campus “It’s something that we started to do years ago it’s a tradition now,” said Persida Negron-Cruz the focus of our Christmas tradition is what we look forward to ShareSaveCommentLifestyleTravelSearching For Italy: Stanley Tucci Visits SicilyByIrene S. Levine Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights Levine is an award-winning travel and lifestyle journalist.Follow AuthorMar 17 08:10am EDTShareSaveCommentThis article is more than 4 years old.Multi-talented Stanley Tucci: Actor “Sicily,” the final episode of the hit food travel show The timing of this six-episode series couldn’t have been more fortuitous Closed borders and raging COVID-19 infection rates have put travel to Italy (and most other parts of the world) on hold Even dining options close to home have been limited by the pandemic-induced spate of restaurant closures and reduced capacity limits—encouraging more of us to dabble in the kitchen Forging new social connections—while staying socially distant—has been challenging and other experts as he explores various aspects of Italian life revolving around its food-centric culture the culinary journey has led viewers to Naples and the Amalfi Coast we are reminded of the joys of international travel—getting to know locals; learning about the history and traditions of a destination; and savoring new places through all of our senses Sicilian winemaker Arianna Occhipinti and Stanley Tucci If you’re been hooked on the series thus far a foray to Sicily (the largest island in the Mediterranean) Tucci explains that most Sicilian dishes rely on the riches of the sea and local ingredients harvested from soil so fertile that it’s sometimes referred to as “God’s Kitchen.” Regional ingredients and recipes reflect the mix of people that have conquered Sicily over centuries He takes viewers to the upscale, coastal resort town of Bagheria to meet with Tony Lo Coco, the Michelin-starred chef of I Pupi The Palermo native prepares his signature dish spaghetti alla Bottarga (dubbed “spaghetTONY”) with bottarga (fish roe) While high rates of unemployment have driven many young Sicilians to study and work in more prosperous cities (like Milan Bologna and Parma) Arianna decided to return home to the family vineyards to make organic wines with Frappato and Nero d’ Avola grapes This area is one of the oldest winemaking regions in Italy Opening a discussion of the stark class contrasts that once existed between wealthy landowners and workers in Sicily Tucci returns close to the center of Palermo to dine with a real princess She and her family live behind massive wooden doors in a 13th century Gothic palace an ornate “living museum” that has been in her deceased husband’s family for generations The Princess and her staff, including a white-gloved waiter, serve up three magnificent versions of timbales. The dish (an encrusted pasta pie) is one that many will remember as having played a starring role in Tucci’s 1996 film, Big Night Tucci visits the southernmost part of Palermo a seafaring island off the coast of Sicily known for its colorful beaches and they chat over a rustic dish of sardines in salsa verde and Sarde a beccafico (butterflied shrimp with breadcrumbs Migrants from Africa have lost their lives in the surrounding waters arriving in makeshift crafts seeking work to improve their lives Their abandoned wooden boats occupy a “boat graveyard” on a nearby sandbank migrants are only permitted to remain on the island for 48-hours before being processed and sent to other locations in Italy Although immigration is a polarizing topic in Italy the country is one of the most migrant-friendly nations in Europe which adds to its rich palette of different cultures and foods Shipwrecks used by immigrants to cross the Mediterranean sea the city that sits in the shadow of Mount Etna While most restaurants in Italy typically close between lunch and dinner Capizzi recalls the Sicilian adage: “The door of a close friend is always open and the food is really nice.” The series doesn’t shy away from politics and grit This episode includes mention of the chilling history of the Mafia in Sicily including the assassinations of Sicilian prosecutors Paolo Borsellino and Giovanni Falcone But the Sicilian journey ends with a heartwarming visit to a family A simple meal of plantain fried in coconut oil reflect the global foods and spices that have enhanced their lives Searching for Italy was renewed for a second season but viewers will have to wait for it to air which isn’t likely to take place until 2022 public health experts are hopeful we are approaching the cusp of a return to “the new normal.” Continued mask-wearing hand washing and vaccines in arms promise to bring infection rates down and make international travel possible again Perhaps avid Italophiles and food enthusiasts will even get to visit some of Searching for Italy’s Season One locations before the airing of the second season The Italian artist Vanessa Beecroft has unveiled her homage to Caravaggio’s Nativity masterpiece at the Sicilian oratory where the 17th-century work was cut from its frame and stolen more than 50 years ago Beecroft unveiled her “personal interpretation” of Caravaggio’s painting Nativity with Saints Lawrence and Francis of Assisi (1600) at the Oratory of Saint Lawrence in Palermo I want to respect the iconography of Caravaggio I therefore chose to leave the Divine in the light and to overshadow the human figures of this [stolen] work,” Beecroft says in a statement The work will remain on display above the altar of San Lorenzo until 8 January and will then be exhibited in the ante-oratory until 17 October 2023 The Beecroft initiative was launched by the non-profit Association Amici dei Musei Siciliani as part of an ongoing cultural project known as Next Artists who have previously paid tribute to the missing Caravaggio work include Alessandro Bazan and Fulvio Di Piazza thieves cut the Caravaggio canvas from its frame with a razor The passage of time and the endless versions of events offered by informers and pseudo-detectives have taken over the inquiries while the actual fate of the Nativity remains shrouded in mystery “The aim of the project is to keep the memory of the famous canvas alive and to exorcise one of the most dramatic events in the history of cultural heritage a possible recovery,” says a project statement In 2019, Bernardo Tortorici di Raffadali, the president of the Association Amici dei Musei Siciliani, suggested a number of hypothetical outcomes, including the proposition that the work had been kept in a barn where it was eaten by mice and pigs. Another scenario involves the British journalist Peter Watson who claimed to have tracked the work down. But the painting was supposedly buried under rubble during the 1980 earthquake in Irpinia while negotiations were underway with the Camorra, the Neapolitan equivalent of the mafia, to exchange it for a cache of drugs and arms. In all probability, the painting was stolen by the mafia. The theft of the Caravaggio, which is included in the FBI’s list of the top ten art crimes, has featured in the testimony of numerous mafia informants. Caravaggio, Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence (1600) Wikimedia Commons news11 February 2025Caravaggio masterpiece painted in Naples rather than Sicily, researchers suggestNew research has overturned conventional wisdom about the provenance of artist’s famed painting Adoration of the Shepherds analysis8 October 2019It’s 50 years since Caravaggio’s Nativity was stolen in Palermo: have the police been chasing red herrings all this time?New enquiries suggest a US or Swiss connection through the mafia heroin trade You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed conceived in 2010 by Bernardo Tortorici of Raffadali thus brings to Sicily this year the exponent of Arte Povera who was called upon to create a new interpretation of the Nativity to commemorate the masterpiece stolen in 1969 from the Oratory of San Lorenzo in Palermo an event that left an indelible mark in the history of world cultural heritage 2024 at midnight and will remain on display until Oct 2025: it will remain on the altar of the Oratory of San Lorenzo until Jan after which it will be tr.asferred to the anti-oratory.“We are extremely grateful to Maestro Michelangelo Pistoletto who wanted to create a Nativity of his for the Oratory of St Lawrence in memory of the Caravaggio Nativity stolen in 1969 and never found,” says Bernardo Tortorici of Raffadali “It is an ’action of ethical reparation that the different artists have wanted to donate to the oratory by joining the Next project The participation of a figure of the greatness of Michelangelo Pistoletto comforts us in recognizing that the theft was not only a crime against the oratory and Palermo it helps to ease the pain of the wound suffered through a new creation that is not only a work of art but also a powerful gesture of human solidarity.” Pistoletto’s new Nativity exploits the original dimensions of Caravaggio’s painting (268x197 cm) and uses one of the artist’s most recognizable languages: mirror paintings Pistoletto thus replaces Caravaggio with a mirror which in this case is Caravaggio’s angel who instead of his scroll holds the symbol of the Third Paradise the configuration of the mathematical sign of infinity conceived by Pistoletto to represent the harmony between nature and artifice “Keeping a part of the ancient painting the Angel descending from heaven carries the Annunciation of the Third Paradise as a symbol of a possible balance between nature and artifice This vision invites collective responsibility transforming conflict into a new horizon of civilization where creation prevails over destruction.” The Next initiative was created to transform the pain of loss into a form of artistic and cultural resilience Through the creation of new works that reinterpret the Nativity the project aims to keep the memory of the lost painting alive while celebrating art as a tool for rebirth Emilio Isgrò and Vanessa Beecroft have offered their visions of the Nativity: the main goal is to exorcise one of the deepest wounds suffered by the world’s cultural heritage while stimulating a collective reflection on art’s ability to heal and regenerate the theft of the Nativity with Saints Lawrence and Francis of Assisi on the night of Oct is considered one of the greatest crimes against art created in 1600-1601 in Rome and then sent to Palermo ranks second in the FBI’s Top Ten Art Crimes The 17th-century Quattro Canti in downtown Palermo Sign up to receive the Gourmet Traveller newsletter and offers we choose to share with you straight to your inbox  By joining, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use Palermo is a city at a crossroads and the best place to start exploring it is at Quattro Canti the city’s crossroads for more than 400 years It was built in the early 17th century by the ruling Spaniards to surround a new intersection that neatly divided Palermo’s four ancient quarters It’s splendidly over the top – each corner has a marble fountain and classic columns flanking three storeys of statuary depicting a Spanish king a saint and a season – with an energy and beauty that transcend the grime and underscore why it’s so central to Palermitan life and the sun is always shining on one of its corners – hence its other name When the mid-afternoon sun hits the autumn corner it glints off a new pane of glass in the old façade contemporary art dealer Francesco Pantaleone has his office and gallery From his desk he can see the statue of spring on the opposite corner which always represents rebirth and that makes me very happy,” says Pantaleone It’s an apt analogy for how he feels about his hometown a city on the cusp of social and cultural renewal Palermo’s fortunes have soared and sunk through 25-odd centuries of invasions an exemplar of the harmonious coexistence of Islamic At the outset of almost four centuries of Spanish rule it was a medieval backwater before rising to become 18th-century Italy’s second largest city after Naples But the Spanish encouraged profligacy as prosperity declined and some say it was downhill from there apart from a brief cultural flowering in the 19th century when British traders amassed colossal fortunes After Allied bombs wreaked havoc in 1943 the historical centre was left to crumble and by the late 1970s it was all but abandoned See our guide of where to eat, stay and shop in Palermo here. Pantaleone’s family has run a religious supplies emporium in the old town since 1905 He sold crucifixes before contemporary art became his vocation “Sicilian people live a bit in the past,” he says By fostering an appreciation of contemporary art he hopes to change the way people perceive Palermo He shows the work of Sicilian artists and brings others to Palermo to create works shaped by their experience of the city where he’d worked for the famed dealer Larry Gagosian Pantaleone opened his first gallery in 2003 then moved into the much larger space at Quattro Canti three years ago white walls and exposed air-conditioning ducts it’s the antithesis of the Baroque extravaganza outside That’s one reason why he built his office around the reglazed window – he didn’t want the Quattro Canti view to detract from the art He jokes that the only people allowed into the inner sanctum are those getting ready to sign cheques “It’s important to try to have a contemporary view of the city,” he says “That’s my point with contemporary art in Palermo and the people that want to catch the sense of this place Thanks to Pantaleone and dozens of like-minded residents there’s a new vibrancy in old Palermo You can feel it on Quattro Canti where the simple act of banning daytime and early evening traffic has transformed the crossroads returning it to a place where people meet and gossip second-generation restaurateur Dario Bisso opened Bisso Bistrot last year who stand outside on Via Maqueda drinking wine while they wait for a coveted bar seat or table Palermo hasn’t really seen the likes of this Parisian-inspired bistro and its simpático vibe delivers affordable Sicilian classics such as uova con il pic pac (eggs cooked in a tomato sauce) and involtini di pesce spada (stuffed swordfish rolls) Blocking traffic on the kilometre stretch from Quattro Canti to the imposing Teatro Massimo has helped to revive Via Maqueda where there’s a passeggiata every evening as people stream into what they call downtown from the newer zones of the city Some ride bicycles with a nonchalance that would have been impossible when cars ruled the road On the waterfront of La Cala – itself a pocket history of the best and worst of times in the port city – the marina has been cleaned up and glass-box buildings house bars and restaurants where people gravitate on sunny Sundays for late-morning Aperol Spritzes While a generation fought to save Palermo from the ravages of post-war degradation political malfeasance and a corrupt mafia-controlled building industry the new generation has “I love Palermo” as a mantra and wants to enliven it they organise open city events and concerts in historic properties Amid lively debate about restoration versus rebuilding some are involved in major projects that sit happily in between They agitate for more civic pride and have even clandestinely cleaned statues and fountains when city funds haven’t stretched to their upkeep Bernardo Tortorici Montaperto di Raffadali is an unlikely agent of change The Montaperti arrived in Sicily with the Normans in about 1100 has antecedents in one granted to an ancestor by the first Norman ruler so he’s considered a “real prince” among Sicily’s countless dukes and counts The 57-year-old lives in a massive part-Catalan part-Baroque palace that occupies an entire block not far from Quattro Canti His late father started the Sicilian arm of Italy’s historic-house association and his mother still runs the palace where she hosts arts dignitaries and rents out grand rooms for wedding receptions Tortorici has made it his mission to open up the city so people can appreciate its “beauties” “It’s a kind of karma that I have in my life to reopen places that were forgotten and closed and not possible to see,” he says Amici dei Siciliani Musei (Friends of the Sicilian Museums) to manage several church properties that the Curia couldn’t afford to open Art history students from the University of Palermo run the ticket offices and tours and curate events but Tortorici aims to do much more than conserve and preserve “Our job is not only to open these places like museums and so forth but we try to let them live in contemporary ways,” he says from his office above his favourite charge Sicilian trade guilds built oratories as their private refuges for religious reflection and socialising later decorating them in grand Baroque style The most revered are those housing the stucco works of Giacomo Serpotta one of the great European sculptors of the 18th century giving it a stone-like lustre and luminance that make his figures seem alive tiny theatres depicting scenes from the lives of patron saints Lawrence and Francis Above the altar his figures danced around Caravaggio’s Nativity earning the oratory the infamy of being the scene of one of the world’s greatest art thefts In December Tortorici hosted the Italian president at the unveiling of a “new” Caravaggio created using digital technology and hung in the old frame Tortorici has been one of the forces behind the decade-old open-city program last year’s event attracted almost 150,000 people which abuts Quattro Canti’s autumn corner was turned into a temporary art space and visitors could walk onto the balcony in front of the statue of Philip IV the splendid frescoes in the newly renovated Palazzo Bonocore were open to viewers and the city council unlocked the gates to the piazza’s huge Mannerist fountain where public access has long been barred The fountain’s recently cleaned marble statues whose nakedness so shocked 16th-century society made a pristine backdrop for hundreds of selfies “It’s a very joyful thing to see the fountain open and people queuing to see the palace and the town hall,” says Tortorici On Quattro Canti’s other main cross-street some 5,500 people joined tours to the cupola of the Baroque church Santissimo Salvatore From there they had a 360-degree view of the historical centre’s four quarters – Kalsa Capo and Castellammare – and an appreciation of their maze of medieval alleys and streets that no map can offer The Amici is using revenue from the cupola tour to restore Santissimo Salvatore’s altar for which Tortorici is negotiating the return of a painting hanging in the Diocesan museum saying they’re part of the growth the city has enjoyed since the 1990s when mayor Leoluca Orlando introduced enlightened policies for rebuilding and restoration “If you came here 20 years ago you would be desperate because to see all these things was too difficult.” and another earlier in the year called Panormus in which local schoolchildren adopt a monument such as the stunning Archivio Storico Comunale were opened for Le Vei dei Tesori and the mayor pumped out messages on Twitter promoting daily activities Yet there are many signs that Palermo is doing it tough amid the Eurozone crisis – uncollected rubbish being the one most residents complain about Tortorici plays down its effects: “We always had less money so we’re used to it,” he says “We always try to make do with what we have.” It’s a sentiment echoed everywhere Hopes are high that UNESCO’s recognition last year of the magnificence of Arab-Norman Palermo will mean those sights attract more visitors UNESCO added the Royal Palace and its chapel and six other 12th-century structures to its prestigious World Heritage list Islamic wooden stalactite ceiling and fusion of Latin As is the awe-inspiring splendour of palaces and churches from the period that art historian (and spy) Anthony Blunt dubbed “Sicilian Baroque” more acclaimed than most of the city’s restaurants from Friggitoria Chiluzzo near the harbour in Piazza Kalsa may well be the best one euro ever spent the fast-fry shop is pure theatre as people of obviously mixed fortunes jostle to get near the counter every time a new batch comes out of the fryer for some travellers Palermo is a hard sell one of the old town’s most distinguished streets there are people living in squalor alongside superbly restored palaces The spectre of the mafia still looms large Shops and restaurants prominently display their membership of Addiopizzo the collective of businesses that refuse to pay the pizzo and a legacy of the murders of anti-mafia magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino in 1992 are 24-hour no-parking zones around judges’ houses There haven’t been any bombings since then leading a lawyer friend to call the zones anachronistic A few days before Dario Bisso opened Bisso Bistrot there was a fire outside his family’s Ristorante Sant’Andrea for which the mafia was blamed declaring “basta” – he’d had enough They’d been intimidated for refusing to pay protection money ever since he and Anna Maria opened Sant’Andrea just off the Vucciria market 21 years ago It was a distressing end to the highly regarded restaurant something of a site of pilgrimage for fans of Peter Robb’s 1996 book Midnight in Sicily The bistro’s historic premises still bear the shopfront of Libreria Dante the go-to bookshop for writers such as Leonardo Sciascia and Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa the author of Sicily’s most revered novel When builders removed bookshelves they discovered walls covered with paintings from the Liberty era of buxom maidens draped in garlands They date back to a time when the rooms were home to Caffè Ristorante Umberto I the favoured hangout of Palermo’s aristocratic classes in the 19th century Bisso wants his bistro to be a more egalitarian haunt of writers Amid so much history it’s easy to get stuck in the past Pantaleone laments that many fellow Sicilians and visitors still have Lampedusa’s The Leopard as their main cultural reference some 53 years after Luchino Visconti turned the melancholy novel into a ravishing film Leopard tourism has been a good money-spinner and has its own story of rebirth the writer’s beloved birthplace and home On the footprint of the old palace architects Fabrizio Favuzza and Alice Franzitta built 36 apartments including a new home for themselves and a creative studio for a recording company Their passion is palpable as they point out the remnants they were able to salvage The most significant – a domed ceiling painted gold and blue in what was Lampedusa’s mother’s boudoir and where the author was born – is now the foyer of an apartment On the terrace of the grandest apartment they built a concrete bench inset with a tiled mural as a homage to the writer who was photographed on a similar seat in the walled garden of his final home on the Kalsa seafront on Via Lampedusa Leopard fans now find palace walls and a plaque commemorating its four-year rebuilding program Osteria Nangia e Bevi’s octopus salad Former Sydneysider Mariella Ienna was so taken with the revival of this oncewretched Castellammare area she bought a derelict apartment in a former Dominican monastery and spent three years turning it into a stunning home Ienna used to live on the best street in the best part of town But she loves her new neighbourhood with its mix of 13th-century church buildings like hers which was revamped by late Milanese architect Gae Aulenti for Fondazione Sicilia “There’s been a huge improvement to this general zone and there’s also quite a happening nightlife,” she says Most evenings its customers spill into the small square a cosy spot where the specialty is pasta fritta – leftover pasta that’s compressed and fried and served in a mini padella “It’s so popular I can’t even get in there,” she says went to Palermo in 2008 to improve her Italian “I was captivated by the blend of architectures and cultures its layers of histories and the gritty charm of modern life,” she says “And slowly but surely it’s getting better and better.”